Psychodynamic Approach- Classic Research

Question 1

Bowlby- Method

Answer 1

Series of case studies
88 children- Children Guidance Clinic- London 1936-39. All children have emotional problems- Association between the 2 groups.
44 Juvenile thieves- 31 boys and 13 girls, 5 and 17 years, mostly of average intelligence, 50% had an IQ of 85-114 (mean is 100) 15 thieves had a higher IQ and 2 were below average
The Juvenile thieves were grouped by seriousness of stealing. 4 had stolen once, 8 had stolen a few times, 10 had irregular mild thieving, and 22 had many thefts
44 in control- All have emotional problems, haven’t been convicted for theft, had similar age, sex & IQ
The mothers of all pps were involved in the research via interviews in order to asses case histories to the children

Question 2

Procedure

Answer 2

Arrival at clinic- psychologists conducted IQ tests
Psychologists also noted the emotional attitude of child
At the same time- social worker interviewed child’s mother about child’s early psychiatric history
Psychologists and social worker report to psychiatrist
Bowlby then interviews mother and child
After examination- Case conference held where info/impressions were discussed, and school/other reports considered
Provisional diagnosis was then made
In majority of cases, further interviews were arranged & child given psychotherapy by psychiatrists and mother talked to social worker. Interviews continued over 6 or more months

Question 3

Findings

Answer 3

Bowlby found 6 main personality types: Normal (2), Depressed (9), Circular (2), Hypothermic (13), Affectionless (14), Schizoid (4)
Affectionless psychopathy- individuals who cannot exhibit caring behaviours, concern, or affection, as well as little empathy or remorse
14/44 thieves were classified as affectionless and 12/14 experienced separation from their mother. 13 of these were classed as grade 4 thieves
17/44 thieves had prolonged separation. 2/44 in control
In the remaining 66 % 27/44 did not have separation but an unsettled home life

Question 4

Findings conclusion

Answer 4

In conclusion, Bowlby created the maternal deprivation hypothesis, Bowlby strengthened the psychodynamic view that early experiences are if vital importance in later life/ development. Damage to this would affect superego- leading of reduced sense of right and wrong

Question 5

Evaluation of Method/ Procedures

Answer 5

✓ The method offers rich, in-depth data so info that may be overlooked using other methods is likely to be identified
✓ It is especially useful as a means of investigating instances of human behaviour and experiences that are rare
✓ The complex interaction of many factors can be studied, in contrast with experiments where many variables are held constant
x- No casual findings. The conclusion that prolonged separation causes the emotional problems experienced by many of the thieves is just a relationship, there may be other variables
x- It is difficult to generalise from individual cases as each one has unique characteristics
x- Also involves recollection of past events as part of case history and such evidence may be unreliable
x- Cannot generalise to all children

Question 6

Evaluation Ethical Issues

Answer 6

Confidentiality and Privacy. Report gives first names and initial of second name. Case histories provide detail of their lives. Easy for someone to identify the individual and their family
Valid Consent. Data collect as part of treating patients at the clinic and that the decision to use the data was retrospective. Children were seen at the clinic from 1936-39 but the report was published in 1946. Would have been difficult to gain consent 5 years later. Ethical issues like this were less problematic than they are now